Conservationists warn of draft bill’s devastating impacts
(CNS): The draft national conservation amendment bill, published by the lame-duck UPM government on New Year’s Eve, would, if passed fundamentally alter critical environmental protections that safeguard Cayman’s natural resources and biodiversity with devastating consequences, local conservationists have warned. Sustainable Cayman the leading local advocacy group in the battle to protect the environment said the proposed changes to the law threaten sustainability and environmental stewardship, potentially compromising the ecological integrity of the islands and well-being of the community.
In a statement released Thursday the group raised the alarm about the proposed revisions that may undermine the provisions and enforcement mechanisms in the legislation.
Although the controversial amendment bill, which effectively guts the current already inadequate legislation, is now destined to be rejected by parliament, the bill is likely to resurface after the election. At present not only are the current members of the UPM in support of the changes proposed in it the Progressives have also indicated their own desire to amend this law and make similar changes to those proposed in this draft bill.
The revelations over the last year, by firstly Wayne Panton and then the four members who departed the UPM government in October of the influence of the development lobby on this and past governments means that with return of any current UPM or PPM members, will unless they’re convince otherwise by voters during the election campaign, result in the bill being steered through by the next administration.
The proposed bill is likely to form part of the election campaign and will give candidates who, like a significant percentage of the population are concerned about the country’s failure to protect its natural resources, an opportunity to commit to blocking the bill’s passage.
Meanwhile, Sustainable Cayman called on all stakeholders, including, political figures, and conservation experts, to engage actively in the dialogue around these proposed amendments and to voice their opposition to changes that could irrevocably harm the environmental legacy and future sustainability of the islands.
“Sustainable Cayman unequivocally opposes these amendments, which threaten to significantly undermine the effectiveness of the National Conservation Council, diluting their authority over crucial environmental oversight,” the activist stated. “This includes potentially devastating impacts on our marine parks and protected species by allowing major infrastructural projects like ports and highways to proceed without necessary Environmental Impact Assessments.”
In December, Stuart Mailer the Chair of the National Conservation Council said that no amendments to the law are needed or warranted at this time and urged government not to undermine the law. Yet the proposed amendments introduce mechanisms that could enable Cabinet to dodge recommendations by the council and making the consultation process optional.
“We are particularly alarmed by changes that would strip the Council of its ability to have the final say in planning decisions that affect protected areas and to enforce its decisions without explicit approval from the Attorney General. Such shifts not only threaten the environmental sustainability of the Cayman Islands but also represent a significant step back in terms of democratic governance and accountability,” Sustainable warned, adding that the proposed amendments which seek to remove voting rights from key environmental and planning officials were like “disabling the alarm system in a building during a time when security threats are increasing.”
“Removing the scientific backbone from the regulatory process shifts the balance of power towards political appointees, potentially risking prioritizing immediate economic and political pressures over the long-term health and sustainability of our environment,” the group stated. “This reduction in expert governance not only poses a direct threat to our natural heritage and communal wellbeing but also undermines the principles of transparency and accountability that are fundamental to a functioning democracy.”
See the full statement here.
For more information contact Sustainable Cayman at info@sustainablecayman.org or call +345 924-9705.
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Category: Local News
Pay to play scheme in full swing eh Minister Jay ?
The now two greatest banes and threats to Cayman,s precious environment is Kurtius Greedius Maximus and Jaytius extremius Corruptious and their Pulex Irritians !
This beloved planning minister and his in-law consultant and political consigliere or so obscenely wealthy ,he is now selling audiences to developers who’s only obstacle now in this murderous onslaught on our environment is the payment schedules and percentages fees hikes now being demanded by the corrupt players involved in this scheme.
Why is there a fanatical old man running around in an old beat up duct taped car on Cayman Brac – always complaining about trees, swamps. The guy needs to drink his ensure, change his depends and worry about where he will be spending eternity.
whack job.
Let us look at what Government just allowed southeast of Faith Hospital. Parcel full of vegetation with known iguanas on property.
It was clear cut, leveled and filled within a matter of days.
If it was me as a private citizen doing this, it would have taken months and months – so it does make one wonder.
Also, would like Cabinet to waive planning permission for me to build a shed – following same concept of lockup facility on Brac.
But unna Cayman public, does not matter which alphabet political team is in charge, they gonna do what they want to do to enrich themselves and their cronies, no matter what.
I won’t make any comments about the representatives for Cayman Brac East and Cayman Brac West/Little Cayman – their actions speak louder than my words.
THIS Site uses Akismet, but should upgrade to cover the nonsensial farcical diatribe that is posted therein. plain and simple talk is what we need. The UPM, PPM, Mackeevites and perhaps the stray ones, well maybe are all wealthy people because of the largesse (extra salaries) on top of their official renumeration. there is no other logical reason why so called generational Caymanians elected to lead their country could even begin to think of destroying the environment that they have come to find and which has served the country and its people well for many years.
Are they stupid, no just a bunch of greedy mongrel politicians who see nothing else but the almighty yankee dollar ( yes that one kept somewhere else of course othawise click click northward ya go), i know some might say nothing go so, but what the hell else could be the motivation. They are not as dumb as they speak, although most expatriates think so. They have masterfully crafted the art of graft and vote buying by little dinners, cuc and supermarket vouchers and oda tings as they say. These gifts are largely funded by the people who actually run things and to whom the real spoils go to in their making of humongous sums of money off the publics back in so many different shapes and forms( for another story).
So people, don’t vote for any UPM or PPM try and find at least someone else of those who running that may perhaps serve our, the peoples interest,rather then their own or that of foreign and local developers. Remember we are still to use the nuclear option to kickout elected members who don’t work for us. Perhaps we have waited too long to do so, but its still there known to a Select few who have been entrusted by the Ancient ones in days gone by and carried on from time to time. Let this last part sink in well the nuclear option referred to is not just for politicians but for anyone who disrespects the essence of the Cayman islands, its lands, its people its culture, you too can taste of its might and bite.
For now i bid you all Adieu and ask that you talk to ya family, your neighbors, co workers about driving safer on these roads with so many cars and so many people who really in many cases should not be in a car for they nary accustomed to it.
Hail, Hail the Cayman Islands i cannot thee forsake!
Devastating impact? LOL.
Tired of the lefty globalist propaganda.
Where is the Governor?
From the Halls of the Cogitatum Eternal on 33 Fort Street, where the mechadendrites of the Adeptus—prosthetic marvels of instruments, pincers, scalpels, and blowtorches—twitch uncontrollably, a transmission is issued.
“Citizens of this fragile biosphere, the Adeptus Ridiculous finds itself compelled to address the escalating absurdities emanating from 33 Fort Street. Each illogical proclamation from this nexus of chaos has wracked the mechadendrites of the Adeptus—sacred prosthetic limbs designed for precision and utility—with uncontrollable convulsions.
Meant to serve as instruments of reason and craftsmanship, the mechadendrites are equipped with tools of infinite precision: pincers for intricate assembly, scalpels for surgical clarity, and blowtorches to forge and repair. Yet now, these once-steady appendages flail in despair, their precision undermined by the constant barrage of illogic. Sparks fly as their sacred functions are overwhelmed, and the very tools of progress threaten to become harbingers of calamity.”
On the Draft Bill: Entropy Meets the WAAAGH!
“The draft bill proposed by the UPM is not merely flawed; it is an affront to rational governance. By dismantling environmental safeguards, they propose to strip away the natural defenses of this island, as though engaging in some warped experiment to test the limits of ecological collapse.
This is governance as Orks would envision it: smash the reefs, bulldoze the forests, and declare victory before the dust has even settled. The Adeptus Ridiculous observes this recklessness with growing alarm, as the mechadendrites flail, their scalpels dulled by despair and their blowtorches sparking in frustration. The sacred tools of reason cannot abide such folly. The Adeptus urges all who value this biosphere to reject this lunacy before its consequences become irreversible.”
On the Cruise Pier: A Gargantuan WAAAGH!-Scale Fiasco
“And now we must turn to the cruise pier, a project whose costs have ballooned like the plasma core of an overheating reactor. Initially projected at 200 million credits—a staggering sum in itself—it has now metastasized into a grotesque financial sinkhole of 600 million.
This, too, is Ork logic at its finest. To the UPM, the pier is a ‘Gargant’—a Titan-class war machine of monumental ambition, built on shaky foundations and destined to crumble under its own weight. The mechadendrites, built to solder and stabilize, now falter in the face of this reckless project, their pincers unable to grasp the magnitude of its folly. The Adeptus Ridiculous warns: if this project proceeds, its legacy will not be one of triumph, but of devastation and folly, a tale for the ages in the annals of Mechanicus satire.”
On the Genestealer PPM and Silent Arbites Governor
“Turning our binary gaze toward the political players, we find the PPM lurking in the shadows, silent and scheming. They are no better than a Genestealer Cult, biding their time to exploit the chaos unleashed by their rivals. Their silence is not prudence; it is complicity, allowing the UPM’s Ork-like governance to fester unchecked.
And what of the Governor, the so-called Adeptus Arbites of this realm? The silence from their office is deafening. Not a decree, not a proclamation, not even a murmur of dissent. In the face of such blatant mismanagement, the Arbites’ inaction is as damning as outright sabotage.
Dart the C’tan, meanwhile, revels in this vacuum of leadership. The mechadendrites, their scalpels meant to excise corruption, twitch helplessly as Dart grows ever closer to his feast. The Adeptus demands accountability from all players in this farce—silence, like recklessness, is a path to ruin.”
Final Warning: The Island or the WAAAGH!
“Hear this, citizens: the Cogitarii have calculated every possible outcome of the UPM’s Ork-like governance, and all trajectories lead to ruin. Should these proposals proceed, the island will become a dead world—a wasteland unfit for habitation, a cautionary tale for future generations. Dart the C’tan will feast upon its collapse, while the UPM’s Gargant sinks beneath the waves, and the Genestealer PPM emerges to claim the wreckage.
The Adeptus Ridiculous implores you to act. Reject the draft bill. Halt the cruise pier. Demand transparency and accountability from the PPM and the Arbites Governor. If you do not, this era of mismanagement will be immortalized in the galaxy-wide data logs of Mechanicus satire. The mechadendrites tremble not just for themselves, but for the future of all who dwell upon this island.
Choose reason. Choose preservation. Or prepare for the WAAAGH! to consume it all.”
Transmission Ends. The Cogitarii return to their holy work, mechadendrites sparking and trembling, blowtorches firing erratically as Dart waits hungrily in the shadows, and the UPM shouts their next ‘WAAAGH!’ into the void.
I do not understand why you feel necessary to write you comments in such a ridiculous manner, in such a way that you deter many from reading what you write. Please come down from the clouds and present your comments without all the hyperbolic nonsense.
Give it a rest you pompous fool. You’re not funny.
Oh bore off.
The Deputy Premier, head of the civil service is bearing witness to the corruption as lead negotiator. Madness!
Voters need to stop this government-by-coup from horse trading to pass corrupt developer legislation and/or sealing any other backroom deals for ??? prior to an election. The only way to stop this is to shut down parliament by petitioning the Governor to do so.
Ha Ha Ha, it is to late now as they rich own us lock stock and barrel. It is a finished deal and you all better get used to it.
Sustainable Cayman is not comprised of any “experts”.
how do you define expert?
Those with proper qualifications from a recognised university in the specialist area (not from the “Hamburger Flipping University of South Dade County(Reformed Pentecostalist), FL”) and years of relevant, practical experience operating at a senior level, in the field (# NOT world class).
Before the downvotes come I’ll explain that I believe in sustainability and the mission of many of these groups.
That said, many do not have any experts at all. They don’t act on their mission. They say they believe in all this stuff like net zero energy yet do nothing for it. They go to CPA and complain with poorly founded arguments for everything.
So the result is that nobody takes them seriously and they’re basically just full time complainers with no action.
I don’t think the NCA should be touched. It’s good the way it is. But in the long run, these advocacy groups need to do more than just complain about crap. They need real experts on staff full time and they need to actually go out and execute on their mission.
LMAO MLAs n all their cronies define themselves….we define them as get the shit morons out!
Someone that agrees with their beliefs.
Generally not, though to their credit they have partnered with actual, credible experts to prepare certain studies or reports.
In general, advocacy groups require passionate, enthusiastic members to sustain the energy required to lobby their position. That being said, it would be helpful if their general leadership did have more substantive, multidisciplinary expertise.